Fasteners are used to hold objects together. In the United States fasteners are part of a twenty-three billion dollar industry. Traditionally, fasteners were intended to be attached and detached so the objects being held together could be disassembled.
The handling of fasteners is done by any one of many common tools. For instance, wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, power tools and the like are used in various ways on nuts, a familiar type of fastener. Because of this ease with which fasteners can be removed from the objects they hold together, they provide little security. Wheels held together with lug nuts, for instance, can be stolen with a common tire iron.
Security fasteners on the market are touted as tamper-proof but are easily defeated using these common tools. Some such fasteners, those used as lug nuts on car wheels for instance, use a cylindrical body with an etched pattern on the face or body of the fastener. A person uses a special socket that fits into the etching and loosens or tightens the fastener. Similarly, many other types of security nuts can be loosened by gripping the nut with a pipe wrench, a locking wrench or even a spanner type wrench.
Using existing security nuts require torque when tightening. Damage to the fastener in high torque situations occurs. This commonly happens when tire lug nuts are tightened by auto mechanics using pneumatic tools.
There is a need in the industry for an apparatus that is easy to use, inexpensive, and provides a durable fastener that can be used for security purposes when joining objects. An apparatus suited to joining objects and providing security.